Mechanical toy



C. L. WELSH.

MECHANICAL TOY.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.25. 1920.

1,392,727.. A l A Patented Oct. 4, 1921 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

. INVENToR. j @gde L'. wels/L C. L. WELSH.

MECHANICAL TOY. APPLICATION FILED Aue.25. 1920.

Patented Oct. 4, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

sraes VCLYDE L. WELSH, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

MECHANICAL TOY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patenten oet. i., 192i.

Application filed August 25, 1920. Serial No. 405,939.

and useful improvements in Mechanical Toys, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to mechanical toys and more especially toautomatic toys operated by gravity.

One of the main objects is to provide a mechanical toy of simpleconstruction devoid of ropes, pulleys and other mechanical elementswhich are easily put out of working order by little children for whomthis toy is primarily intended. Another object is to produce a toy inwhich the weight of Imarbles is used to provide the necessary operatingpower.

A further object is to construct a toy of this character with the leastnumber of simple parts thereby reducing the cost of manufacture ascompared with toys of the same character now on the market.

In the drawings, which represent the preferred construction of theinvention, and which form part of this specification:

Figure l represents a side elevation of the toy with the balancing beamshown in its two extreme positions.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the marblebucket positioned at theforward end of the balancing beam.

Fig. 4 is a representation of the blank stamping required for formingthemarblcbucket out of one piece of material; the

bending lines being shown in dot and dash lines.

Fig. 5 is a front elevationV showing the preferred method of assemblingthe upper structure of the toy with its base.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation corresponding to Fig.

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 7-7 in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a pla-n view of a snap-ring of concavo-conveX section forsecuring a bottom of thin material under the base of the toy.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged section taken on line 5)-9 Fig. 2, showing themethod of securing a bottom to the underside of the base frame by meansof the snap-ring.

Fig. l0 is a cross section through balancing-beam taken on line 10-10,Fig. 1.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the preferred construction ofthis toy consists of a base l a standard 2 which carries at its upperend a runway 3. These two members are held rigidly together by the brace4.

The standard 2, runway 3, and brace -l are made of sheet metal having' achannel shaped cross section which insures great. stiffness with aminimum of weight, A

balancing-beam 5, made of one single strip.

of metal is pivotally supported, intermediate its ends on standard 2 andcarries at the forward or open end ay bucket member 6 and at its rearend a suitable balancing weight '7.

Base l is preferably made of heavy wire la bent into the shape of anopen circle Ahaving its ends 8 and 9 bent upwardly at right angles tothe base` for the purpose of securing the upper structure to thtJ base.A bottom plate 10 provided with a peripheral ledge l0a is secured on theunder side of frame l by means of an open snap-ring 11 of concave-convexcross section which is snapped around base wire l after the bottom platel0 has been applied, thus securely holding the latter in position. Theobject of said bottom plate is primarily to prevent the marring ofpolished furniture by the repeated striking of the bucket 6 and marblesl2, should thel toy be operated on such furniture. Moreover the top sideof the bottom plate may be approprinted for advertising matter or mayhave printed upon itself numbered zones upon which the marbles will rollafter leaving the bucket 6; the sum total of the numbers for a givenquantity of marbles forming the basis of a game in combination with theoperation of the device as a toy proper.

For the purpose of reducing the necessary packing and storage spacerequired by the toy, the base l is detachably secured to the upperstructure of the toy by inserting the tip-turned wirer ends 8 and 9 intospecial grooves formed in clip 13 secured at the foot of standard 2 bymeans of lugs 14- and 15 bent. over the web of the standard.

The upper end of standard 2 has part of its web cut away to form afork-like support for runway 3. This runway is sufciently inclined toenable the marbles to roll by gravity toward its forward or lower end,which is provided, near the edge, with a key-hole shaped aperture 1G thediameter of which is somewhat smaller than that of the smallest marblesto be used. Upon dropping in this aperture, the foremost marble will bestopped, thereby also arresting the motion of the marbles following it.The runway may be extended beyond the right hand side of standard 2 forthe purpose of accommodating a greater number of marbles thuslengthening the duration of the automatic performance of the toy.

. Brace 4 which connects the lower end of standard 2 with the forwardend of runway 3,'has part of the flanges cut away at the lower end andthe web is extended so as to be secured by the cleat 13 and lugs 414 and15, the web of the brace and standard being provided with a suitableoblong aperture 16 to accommodate lug 14. The bal-k V`ancing-beam 5which is made of a bent strip of metal is preferably stiffened atitsforwardportion' by depressed ribs 5a thus reducing the lateralvibrations which might interfere with the correct operation of the toy.This beam is suitably fulcrumed at point 17 'and is supported on thestandard `by a wire pin 18 passing through these members.

The bucket 6 ispreferably formed of a v'single `piece of sheet metal andcomprises a bottom 19, two sides 20, a discharge spout 21 suitablyinclined iso Vas to hold a marble in the bucket during its downwardmotion while also allowing said marble to roll out of the bucket .whenthe latter has reached its lowermost position. Vithin the bottom 19 adepending tongue 22 is punched out and bent upwardly in such a manner asto reach within and at the rear end of aperture 16 in runway 3. Thesmaller lugs or tongues 23 are provided for securing the bucket to thebalancing-beam by being folded over the sides of the latter.

As willbe seen in the drawings, a similar l method is used generallywherever members are to be permanently secured together, this being thesimplest and most usual means employed in devices of this character. Theoounterweight 7 isl so proportioned that the rear end will over-balancethe forward end of the beam when the bucket is empty; however whenV thellatter has received a marble the condition will be reversed, and thebucket will be forced downwardly. The counterweight 7 may of course bemade to represent any kind of comical human or animal f .figure toincrease the attractiveness ofthe toy `to children.

Having thus detailed the construction of the various members, theoperation ofthe toy will be easily understood and is as follows :e

The toy being placed upon a level surface, the runway 3 is filled withmarbles. The latter are prevented from rolling out by the tongue 22protruding through the aperture 16. A slight downward stroke is nowgiven to the bucket thereby disengaging the tongue and enabling thefirst marble to rest in the circular part of aperture 16. The returnupward motion of the bucket will cause the tongue to strike'the firstmarble sufficiently hard to drive it out'of hole 16 and causeit to rollinto the bucket where it is arrested by spout 21. The added weight ofthe marble will cause the bucket end of the beam to swing downward untilit strikes the bottom 10 at 'which 'time the marble will leave-thebucketv thereby allowing the bucket to move upV again. This operationwill continue automatically as long asv marbles are'fed into the runway,and the rapidity of the oscillations of the balancing beam will beincreased Vby using heavier marbles. A

As will be noted the marbles will be prevented from scatteringpromiscuously by the heavy base wire 1EL which acts as a border withinwhich the marbles are confined fin their movements. Y

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings it should be apparent that I have provided a toyV of simpleconstruction and of very positive operation. 1

It is ofcourse to be understood that the parts may be constructed invarious other manners than shown and the parts associated differently;so therefore I do not desire to be limited inV any manner exceptV as setforth in the claims hereunto appended.

That I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is :-V

1. In a toy of thecharacter described, the

combination of a base; a standard detachably connected to said base; aninclined runway; a plurality of marbles carried in said runway; akeyholev shaped aperture, of smaller size than the dimension of saidmarbles, provided adjacent the lower end Y of said runway; abalancing-beam pivotallv supported intermediate its ends by saidstandard; `a bucket secured at the forward end of said -beam;a dependingtongue bent upwardly in the bottom of saidV bucket for Aprotrusionthroughxthe aperture in said run- 'CLYD'E' L. WELSH.

